Monday, April 16, 2012

Obama’s call for Romney to releases taxes echoes Saldaña’s challenge to Scott Peters, Brian Bilbray

From the Saldaña campaign:

 

Obama’s call for Romney to releases taxes echoes Saldaña’s challenge to Scott Peters, Brian Bilbray

“It’s time to come clean, gentlemen”

SAN DIEGO – Democratic frontrunner, Lori Saldaña’s said that President Obama’s call for Republican Mitt Romney to release his taxes echoes her own repeated challenge to Scott Peters and Brian Bilbray to make their tax public.

“I share with the President a respect for transparency when running for a public office,” Saldaña said. “And that transparency includes letting people know what percentage of our income we pay in taxes.”

“Elected office is a public trust,” she said. “The public deserves to know whether candidates – especially extremely wealthy ones - play by the same rules as everybody else.”

Saldaña challenged the contenders for the 52nd Congressional District to release their taxes on February 22nd. On March 3rd she released her own tax returns to the San Diego Union-Tribune for publication on their website.

Brian Bilbray has agreed to release his taxes, but has not yet to done so.

Scott Peters - whose vast personal wealth is speculated to match or even exceed Mitt Romney’s - has refused to make his taxes public.

But the April 17th deadline has made the issue especially salient in the minds of the voters.

“This is insulting to the public,” Saldaña said. “We are approaching two months since I challenged Bilbray and Peters to release their taxes,” she said. “It’s time to come clean, gentlemen, about what you make, how you make it, and what you pay in taxes.”

She noted that Peters, Bilbray and Romney know the public is outraged by special tax breaks enjoyed by the extremely wealthy, so she is not surprised that the candidates are playing elaborate games of evasion, hoping the public will forget about it.

“This year, the public is definitely not in the mood to forget about it,” she said.

"I shared my tax return weeks ago. Voters are asking me: When will my opponents do the same? What do they have to hide?"

"It's simple: I believe in transparency," Saldaña continued "When I talk with San Diegans and hear their stories, it's clear many are still struggling as the economy improves. By releasing my tax returns I want them to know: I get it. I hear you loud and clear. My family's a lot like your family."

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